Luckily for me, I am lucky. :D
I am lucky because a friend from my high school recently contacted me and offered to edit my book. Uh, of course I said YES!
So, for what it's worth, I am referring to her as my editor.
My editor has a degree in English and is an editor for Pearson's Publishing (educational publishing). She also has experience copy editing. She's using my book as a test run to see if she'd like to do freelance editing (I sure hope I make a good impression!).
To give you a taste of why I am SO excited, here is the e-mail she sent after I sent her my book:
Here are a couple of notes on how I'm planning on editing:
- I'll track all my changes using Word's track changes function. This way, you are free to accept or reject each of my changes
- I'll mostly limit myself to copyediting--checking grammar, spelling, clarity, repetitiveness, and consistency--but I'll also leave you content-related notes if I find something to be confusing or unclear. My job is not to rewrite, just to help make things clearer. You'll find I ask a lot of open-ended questions.
- I'll use the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, and Merriam-Webster's dictionary as my main style references.
- Since passive voice is such a common thing, I'll probably go ahead and delete unnecessary passive words; however, I'll highlight the instances of passive voice that require rephrasing in pink--that way you can see them all and adjust them as you see fit. Besides, passive voice isn't ALWAYS bad. :)
- Likewise, if I notice a recurring issue, I'll make a note the first couple times, and then highlight that particular issue in one color through the rest of the book. That way you will still be in control, and the comments won't become overwhelming.
- I'll create a style sheet where I can keep track of all of the character names, locations, and their characteristics. I'll probably send this to you during my edit so you can verify the information is working out how you intended. Or, if you'd like to make a quick list of main characters/locations and what you see for those characters/locations, I'll make sure the book is achieving that end.
I asked her if I could use this on my blog, she said sure, "Just keep in mind this is just a starting point! I'm constantly trying to evolve to make things better."
And that's why I find her so awesome.
I am BEYOND excited to have this opportunity to better my book!
Especially since I am not a good editor! :/
Cool, Ashley. I did some writing assignments for Pearson, and their editors are quite thorough. You will end up with a great manuscript. :)
ReplyDeletewow, that's awesome!
ReplyDeleteI need your friend! What a great help for you both!
ReplyDeleteWell now, looks like your story is in good hands. ^_^
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab opportunity and an awesome friend!
ReplyDeleteThis is very awesome indeed! I also had a guy critique my book who works in editing, and it was awesome.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you hit gold! How professional. Best of luck to you both!
ReplyDeleteVery awesome! It's always great to find an organized, thoughtful reviewer. One with an editing background is a major plus.
ReplyDeleteI like how you and your editor are defining how things will work between you. Helps to know whether you and your editor mesh well early. You look like you're off to a great start! Happy editing =)
ReplyDeleteWow, this is awesome! You have a very nice friend. I like the way she is going to edit, helpful but not overwhelming and she won't rewrite your work, I've heard of that before, I do NOT like it when someone rewrites someone else's work. It's one thing to make notes about what changes/rewrites should be made and show it to the author and let the author decide. Anyway, sounds like a good partnership. ~Jennifer Chezem
ReplyDelete